Second Life
by krissy7490
Summary: An 18 year-old Sam decides to pursue the life he's dreamed of, despite his father's and Dean's objections. This story follows Sam's life at Stanford. This story is a work in progress.
1. Chapter 1

Second Life

An 18 year old Sam Winchester was sprawled out on one of the motel room's beds. He was absent-mindedly flipping through the TV channels, not paying attention to what was on them. He had only one thing on his mind. Specifically, the conversation he had with his guidance counselor this afternoon.

_"Full ride, Sam!" Mr. Carter said beaming. "Your grades are top notch and so were your SAT scores. Fill out the paperwork and show up! You are one lucky young man!"_

Sam wasn't exactly feeling lucky. Maybe normal kids would be thrilled at the news. Maybe normal kids would be chomping at the bit to announce to the world the fantastic news. Most kids wouldn't hesitate to tell their folks they had scored a full ride to Stanford University.

Sam Winchester was _not_ a normal kid.

He heard the door open and looked over to see his brother, Dean, come inside carrying a shopping bag filled with various items.

"Get over here, Sammy," Dean said as he set the bag on the table. "I just bought some supplies. We need to start getting things together for the next hunt. I want to get it done before Dad gets back."

Sam rolled his eyes, but got off the bed and went over to the table. He sat down in one of the chairs and began pulling items out of the bag. Salt that needed to poured into pouches. Wooden stakes that needed to be sharpened. A silver plate that Sam knew get pounded down, melted, and turned into silver bullets. Batteries for the flashlights. Candles for rituals. New flasks to replace the ones damaged in the last hunt that held their holy water. Lighter fluid for torching skeletal remains.

_"It's not for much longer,"_ Sam thought to himself.

College was scheduled to start in two weeks. Everything was ready for him. He had missed orientation because of the poltergeist they had hunted down that week, plus the fact that Sam hadn't been quite prepared to make the big announcement yet. He knew the reaction his was going to get. He also had his plan ready and there was nothing that was going to stop them.

The brothers worked in silence until almost 7 o'clock. They looked up when the door opened and John Winchester entered carrying two bags full of burgers and French fries. They cleared off the table and John began passing out the food. The three began eating.

"So I think I found our next hunt," John said. "It's about 2 hours from here in Iowa. I think there's a werewolf up there from what I've read in the newspaper articles. I figure we can head up there tomorrow."

"Sounds good, Dad," Dean said as he ate his burger.

Sam felt his stomach knot up. He hated to say anything, but he knew he couldn't wait any longer. It was now or never.

Sam cleared his throat. He stared down at his burger. "Actually, Dad… I… I'm not going."

There was silence for a moment. Both John and Dean stared at him.

"What?" John asked sternly.

Sam swallowed hard. No turning back now.

"I talked to Mr. Carter today. My guidance counselor. I got a full ride to college for four years."

Silence again.

"Sammy, that's great," Dean said with a nervous chuckle. "But what about hunting? It's going to be kinda hard to come hunting with us if you're going to college!"

This was going to be the hard part.

Sam mustered up all his courage. "I'm done hunting. This is my chance for a normal life and I'm taking it. I got a full ride to Stanford University. I'm going. And nothing you say will change my mind."

The tension filled the room. Sam could see the rage filling John's eyes. Sam braced himself, preparing for the onslaught.

"College," John spat out bitterly. "You are going to abandon your family for _college_. Give up everything we have worked so hard for just so you can leave and chase after your own selfish ideas. So you can try to be _normal_."

Sam filled with rage. "_Selfish_!? You're calling _me_ selfish!? Look at what you've done to us! Dean and I never signed up for this! We never asked for this life! And now when I have the chance to make my life better you tell me I'm selfish!"

John slammed his fist on the table and glared furiously at Sam. "You are selfish! All that matters is family! That is all you can rely on in this world! And I have done the best I could and have kept you boys _alive_! Now you want to goes running off and live this _normal_ life you keep going on about. It's crap, Sam. I will never allow it! I won't let you go!"

"You can't stop me!" Sam yelled back jumping up out of his chair. John stood up and straightened up to his full height.

"I'm warning you Sam!"

"Warn away! I don't care what you say! I hate you and I hate this life you've made me live! In fact, I hope this is the last time I ever see you! I'm leaving tonight and I swear to God I am never coming back! I never want to see you ever again!"

John's face turned to stone. He shoved his chair away and stormed over to the door, opening it. He turned back and spoke to Sam warningly.

"I swear, if you leave tonight, it's done. I've had enough of your crap, Sam. You leave tonight and don't bother coming back when it all falls apart." With that John walked out the door and slammed it shut.

Sam stormed over to where his duffle bag was. He had already started packing while Dean had been gone. He threw it on the bed and began throwing his belongings into it.

Dean had been sitting in stunned silence. After John left he got up and looked anxiously at Sam.

"Dude, just calm down," Dean said.

Sam shook his head furiously. "No. It's done. I've had it. I'm not putting up with it anymore. He wants me gone so I'm gone. I'm done with this life."

"Come on, Sam. Just… just take a night to sleep on it. You know how Dad gets when you spring stuff on him. He gets all mad, but he'll get over it. Just stay tonight and we'll talk about it tomorrow. We'll work something out. There's gotta be a way we can all hunt together and you go to school too. Just... you can't go like this."

Sam zipped the duffle bag closed and picked it up. He looked Dean in the eye.

"I'm leaving. It's never going to work. Unless all I do is hunt, he's never going to be happy. And I'm done with it. I don't want to hunt anymore. I'm leaving."

They looked at each other for a moment. Sam felt his chest tighten. The only reason he hadn't left sooner was because of Dean. Because he had never been anywhere without him. He had never been on his own and secretly it terrified him.

But John's words echoed in his ears. Sam swallowed hard and stuck out his hand towards Dean.

"Take care, Dean," Sam said, trying not to sound upset. "Maybe I'll see you around."

Dean stared at him, stunned. He closed his eyes and looked down, shaking his head. He finally looked back at him.

"You're really serious."

Sam nodded.

Dean swallowed hard. He finally gripped Sam's hand in his and shook it. Then he pulled Sam in for a hug.

"I can't believe what an idiot you are," Dean said, his voice choked. "Just… just don't get yourself hurt, OK? If something comes up and you need to do some hunting just do it. Don't forget what you've learned, OK?"

Sam nodded, feeling the tears prick his eyes. When Dean released him Sam quickly turned and walked away. He knew if he stayed any longer then there was no way he would be able to make himself leave. Sam opened the door and walked through it, closing it behind him. He never looked back.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sam stared out of the bus window, watching the rain hit the pane of glass and lazily run down the smooth surface in a thin river. It was 11:30 at night and two days since he had left. He had gone directly from the hotel to the bus station and bought his ticket that would eventually take him to Stanford via several bus stops.

Despite his fear of being completely on his own, Sam felt empowered with his freedom. He had planned everything so carefully and, so far, things had gone accordingly. His entire senior year had painstakingly saved every dollar he possibly could in order to have enough money for what he would need. He had managed to save almost $5000. He had to admit he was grateful to Dean for teaching him how to hustle at pool. While he wasn't nearly as good as Dean, he had been able to amass a fair amount of wealth from his game.

Dean.

His chest tightened at the thought of his brother. His only regret about leaving was having to leave Dean behind. He knew the hardship that his leaving would put on his brother. After all, they had been a team.

No. Sam banished the thoughts that were trying to sneak into his mind. Dean had made his choice. He wanted to be a hunter. So be it. But that wasn't the life Sam wanted and he refused to be guilted into it.

Suddenly Sam felt the bus slow down and saw that they were pulling into another bus stop. Sam knew that here he was going to have to take a connecting bus on to Stanford.

He exited the bus with the other passengers leaving and entered the station. Looking at the board he saw the next bus leaving for Stanford wasn't going to be there for another 3 hours. He sighed and looked out the window.

Across the street he spotted a Super Wal-Mart. He then realized that he hadn't bought any school supplies or anything he made need for living in a dorm room. He had saved his money. Now was the time to spend it!

He stored his duffle bag in one of the bus station's lockers. He then braved the rain and made a dash across the street to the store. Once there he quickly grabbed a shopping cart and headed for the school supplies.

Sam couldn't recall many happy times in his childhood. There had always been some monster that eventually distracted everyone and often there was a near-death experience. But there was only one thing Sam could always count on enjoying: school shopping. He _loved_ it. He could spend hours in the stores, pouring over the different notebooks, pens, paper, and folders they had. Dean would always roll his eyes, grab a couple notebooks and pens and say he was done. Sam, however, would take his time. He would make sure he had a notebook and folder for each class, plenty of pens, a hole punch that he could keep in his three-ring binder, a daily planner to keep everything organized, and multiple packages on college-ruled paper that would all be gone by the end of the year.

Sam smiled broadly. He was in Heaven!

For the next hour he carefully selected the supplies he would need for his classes. He had his course schedule in his pocket and he made sure he got everything he could possibly need for each class. He also bought himself a new dictionary and thesaurus. He was practically giggling with glee at being able to take as much time as he wanted and could buy everything he wanted for school. It also helped that with school rapidly approaching school supplies were on sale.

Sam pushed the cart ahead of him as browsed through the rest of the store. He decided if he happened to see anything else he could use for school then he would pick it up.

And then he saw it.

It was sitting alone on the shelf in the Electronics section. Silver, shiny, and new. Sam could have sworn there was an aura of light surrounding it. A laptop. Something Sam had always dreamed of owning. He had seen college students on TV working away on their laptops and he had always dreamed of having one of his own when he could go to school.

After hunting down someone who worked at the store and adding the laptop, a backpack, and bag for the laptop to his cart, Sam gleefully went to the front to check out. Once back to the bus station Sam began to quickly fill his new bags with everything he had bought. He desperately wanted to try out the laptop, but decided against it. Last thing he wanted was to ruin his brand new laptop in a bus station!

When Sam boarded the bus to Stanford he finally felt for the first time that he really was going to college!

***

Stanford University.

Sam stared in awe at the sprawling campus. It almost seemed surreal. He couldn't believe that after all this time that he had _finally_ made it! He was actually going to college. And not just any college, but _Stanford_.

He swallowed hard and looked at the paper he was gripping tightly in his hand. The paper listed the dorm he would be living in and there was a map at the bottom of the paper, marking its location. He began to quickly make his way in the dorm's direction.

He was carrying everything he owned. He had gone out and bought his books a few days ago and a rolling backpack to store all of his school supplies in. He was also lugging his laptop in its new case, his duffle bag, and an extra backpack loaded with food he had bought. He had been living in a motel since he had arrived in town and had figured he could use the extra food in the dorms.

It was still early in the day. Sam had wanted to move in as early as possible and get settled in. He wanted to explore the campus and find out where all his classes were. Despite the early hour, there were students trickling in. Students with their parents were unloading vehicles that were stuffed full of boxes, suitcases, lamps, computers, microwaves, and mini-fridges. The students leaving home for the first time were easy to spot. Their mothers were wiping the tears from their eyes and their fathers were beaming with pride. Sam felt a tightness in his chest as his thoughts went to his family and what they could be doing. He then pushed the thoughts aside.

He finally found his dorm and went in. There was a young woman sitting at a table with a box holding dozens of manila envelopes sitting nearby. He went to her and told her his name. She quickly flipped through the envelopes and pulled out his and handed it to him. He opened it to find a set of keys and a packet of papers. The first page listed the floor his room was on and the room number. His room was number 6 on the third floor.

He took the elevator up and arrived to the floor. He was able to quickly find his room. He used the key to unlock and open the door. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

Sam had never seen such a nice room in his life. There were two, single beds, two dressers, and two desks with a chair each, all made out of pine wood. The window looked out over the campus. There were also two small closets in the room.

He slowly walked into the room, taking everything in. The room wasn't much smaller than the motel rooms him and Dean had grown up in. And this room was a million times nicer and cleaner than any of those rooms!

He decided to take the bed on the right. He set his bags on it and began unpacking. He soon realized he was going to have to buy some more things. He needed linens for his bed, coat hangers, a lamp, and a shelf for all his food at least. And he was sure there would be more as time went on.

Despite the realization he would have to do more shopping, he was beaming with joy. He gleefully sat at his desk and began putting things away in it. He set up his laptop, plugged, and turned it on. He knew the college had Internet; he would just need help setting it up.

It wasn't long before he had everything put away. He was exploring the features on the laptop when he heard a voice approaching from down the hall.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Ladies and gentlemen of Stanford University, have no fear! Markus, the life of every party is here and ready to live it up! Who is with me?" A male's voice called out.

Sam could hear a few students cheer in response. A minute later a young man came strolling into the dorm room. He was pulling a huge red rolling suitcase behind him and had a large backpack on his back. He was surveying the room when his eyes fell on Sam. He dropped his suitcase on the floor and walked over to Sam, holding out his hand for a handshake.

"Hey, man! How's it going? Name's Markus Collins and I'm you're new roommate! Hope you know you're the luckiest bastard in this whole dorm to get me as your roommate!" Markus said, shaking Sam's hand enthusiastically.

Sam smiled politely back, feeling a little nervous. "Hi, I'm Sam Winchester. Why am I the lucky one?"

"Dude, you may not realize it yet, but you got a roommate who knows how to have a good time! I'll make sure you get in to any party and hook you up with any girl you want! I've got connections, man! I promise you won't get bored with me around!"

Markus grinned proudly with that statement. Suddenly, before Sam could reply, some yelling down the hallway could be heard.

"Markus! Get your hind end back here and help your grannie carry the rest of your crap to your room! Poor woman's 67 years old! She shouldn't be having to haul around your stuff!"

"Andy! Don't you be broadcasting my age for everyone on God's green earth to hear!" A woman's voiced yelled back.

"Woman, no one is going to be mistaking you for some young college thing! I don't think anyone around here cares!" Andy replied.

Markus rolled his eyes and dropped his backpack on the bed.

"Hold on there, roomie. Coming, Grandpa!" Markus called back as he went back out the door.

A minute later Markus came back in lugging a suitcase and laptop bag. Following him was an older woman carrying a lamp. Behind her was an older gentleman around the woman's age with a handcart that had a mini-fridge and microwave strapped to it. The woman set the lamp on one of the desks while the man wheeled the hand cart over to one corner of the room.

"You should put the fridge right here," the man said as he began unhooking the straps.

"Grandpa, I've got it," Markus said, rolling his eyes.

His grandmother came over and shook a finger scoldingly at him.

"Markus, don't be rollin' yer eyes at yer grandpa!"

"Sorry, Grannie."

Grannie looked around the room and then her eyes fell on Sam who was sitting quietly at his desk, watching.

"Oh! You must be Markus's new roommate! I'm his grandmother. You can just call me Grannie," Grannie said as she took Sam's hand with both of her own and shook it warmly.

"Hi. Yeah, I'm Sam," Sam replied.

"Oh, now don't you worry. Markus is a good responsible boy. He'll be a very nice roommate for you." She then motioned towards the man setting up the fridge. "And that there is Markus's grandpa. You can just call him Grandpa."

Grandpa gave a quick absentminded wave as he reached back to plug in the fridge.

Markus sighed and looked around anxiously.

"You guys, you really don't have to set everything up. I really can do it."

"Oh now you know we like to help," Grannie said walking over to him.

"Besides," Grandpa gruffly added, "This way we can make sure you have everything you need so you don't go callin' for money as soon as we get home!"

"I won't call for money as soon as you guys get home! I have everything!"

Sam couldn't help but smile as he watched Grannie fuss over Markus and Markus display his obvious annoyance at it. Even Grandpa, with all his gruffness, showed his concern by making sure probably twenty times before they got ready to leave that Markus had everything.

"I'll be fine, guys. Really," Markus said to them as they were saying their good-byes.

Grannie's eyes filled with tears as she hugged Markus tightly to her.

"I am so proud of you, Markus," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "I love you so much!"

Sam turned away, feeling his chest tighten. God, he couldn't help but wish Dad and Dean would have come with him. They could have toured the campus together, gone to Wal Mart and bought all the stuff he'd need for school. Dean could have pointed out all the hot college girls on campus. Dad could have given him a hug as they were leaving and tell him how proud he was…

Yeah, that was a dream that would _never_ happen.

He heard Markus shut the door and come over and flop down on his bed with a huge sigh.

"Dude, sorry about all that. Grandpa and Grannie can get a little smothery sometimes."

"Hey, no problem, man. They seem really nice actually."

Markus grinned a little.

"Yeah, they can be pretty cool. I mean, hell, they've let me live with them for the last 15 years. And they're pretty stoked about me coming here. I'm the first person in my family to go to college."

"Wow. That's cool."

"I know, right?" Markus propped himself up with his elbows to look at Sam. "So what about you? What's your family like?"

Sam chuckled a little. "Well, they're… they're not like your family, that's for sure!"

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"Well, it's just me and my brother and my dad. And… well…" Sam hesitated before saying, "They weren't as… excited about me going to college."

Markus looked at him, surprised.

"Seriously? Dude, my grandparents weren't so hot on the idea at first, but when they found out that I got all these scholarships and grant money they went nuts! I mean, shit, man! It's fucking _Stanford!_"

Sam laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, I know. It's just… Dad wanted me to… to go into the family business… and… and I didn't want to."

"Well, does, your bro want to do it? The family business?"

"Uh… well… yeah. Yeah he does."

"So then you're off the hook! Your bro has it covered so you can worry about being a college boy!"

Markus sat up and got off the bed.

"Dude, let's go check out the campus. I've got some shit I need and it looks like you need some sheets for your bed."

Sam looked sheepishly over at his bed and nodded.

"Yeah, I know."

Sam got up and followed Markus out of their room. He couldn't believe his luck so far and he couldn't help but pray that it would last.


End file.
